New enhanced-use lease project will provide a quiet place for formerly homeless Veterans and their families

In May, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Cabin in the Woods project, a supportive rural community of 21 cabins that provide permanent homes for Veterans and their family members. The project was made possible through VA’s Enhanced-Use Lease program. Through the Enhanced-Use Lease program, VA leases out underutilized land to be developed as housing for homeless and at-risk Veterans.

The Cabin in the Woods project is located at the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, Maine, and is designed to shelter and care for homeless Veterans in a safe and supportive community. Working with local, regional, state, and federal agencies to meet the diverse needs of its residents, the Cabin in the Woods will place an emphasis on family reunification and employment to help Veterans get back on their feet. It is the first project of its kind in Maine, and the only program in the state that will house homeless male and female Veterans, and their families.

To read more about the Cabin in the Woods project, click here. You can also learn more about the Enhanced-Use Lease program by clicking here.

This article was submitted by VA’s Homeless Veterans Outreach and Communications Office, whose mission is to improve access to VA care among homeless and at-risk Veterans by expanding awareness of VA programs for that subset of the Veteran population. The office also helps to develop collaborative relationships with organizations that can help homeless Veterans access employment opportunities, affordable housing, and move-in essential items, which all increase the likelihood that they will remain stably housed after exiting homelessness.

Tags:

Author

VAntagePoint Contributor

— VAntage Point Contributors provide insight and perspective on a wide range of Veterans issues. If you’d like to contribute a story to VAntage Point, learn how you can submit a guest blog at http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/how-to-submit-a-guest-post/

Comments

Cabin(S) as in plural many times over is needed and please DROP the Quiet Place monikers would you please…
Homeless Veterans don’t really need quiet places, their not 16 year old juveniles their grown Men & Women who need a roof over their heads, as in 3 hots and a cot…
All these caring people who talk a good line to get the check books out…
Cabins etc, they need the help.
Thanks
A 100% Disabled Veteran and 22 year Man

I wouldnt write this off. My husband (army ranger retired) does not like being in the city so we live in an area surrounded by woods near city to keep me happy. I can tell you from talking to wives across the country their husbands are dragging them in to the country. My concern is not so much cabins but access to medical care. Are they too far from counseling? My huzband is va rated 100% for ptsd and i dont know where we’d be without help. I hope it is set up so they dont isolate too much. Maybe try for a while and then judge.